Cheers Poem by Prathibha Nandakumar

It was a table for two.
Two beer mugs were filled to the brim
Who called the third cheer?

The crow suffers disturbed sleep
Coconut palm leaves make rustling sound
Shivers run up the spine, not
because of getting high
It was a cold hand on the bare back.

Who kept prompting between the story?
A smile unseen.
Just when the moon moved up
to the centre of the sky
he whispered and

went down the stairs
with a hearty laugh.
The beer was served for two
Three drank, one slept and

The other did not wake up.


Translated from Kannada by the poet.